Skip to main content

Another perfect Henley Day

Dear Reader

I have had the most lovely day today with my cousin Sal and her people.

Here they are, making dinner. I do love my Hansons. They have made me feel so very, very welcome in their home. And I feel so very privileged to have all of them at home with us for my few days post tour in Henley. I can’t wait until Easter when they come down under, and October when Ali and I return for the Gastronomic Noughties. Sorry, Sis. I just named our tour. And I can tell you Sal and I have found some additional gastronomic pleasures. The Hand and Flowers at Marlow has been added. As well as Ottolenghi. And other options. We shall book post haste.



And here is the evidence of our lovely walk to Hambleden, which was just wonderful. Lots of mud, water and tramping. Lavinia will attest to the wonders of tramping with Sal and Zuki.





















Our final stop was Hambleden where we sat in the pub (The Stag and Huntsman) at Simon West’s table. He had it booked at 6 but we had it until 5:45pm. Probably the best seat in the pub.

First I took photos of the church, which was just so lovely. It is dedicated to Mary the Virgin.







Then there was the “Main Street” and the Stag and Huntsman, which I think define Hambleden.




And now for the after dark photos, which I also love...








Possibly the cutest Hanson is Zuki, who is allowed in the Stag and Huntsman as well as on trains and in Chez Hanson. His photos are below.

Please don’t tell the absolutely beautiful Hanson Girls that I think Zuki is the cutest. They are so very beautiful, but this Puppy Little is mighty cute.







 I have loved being with the Hansons. I love being with the Hansons. The girls are all so supportive of each other, and love each other so much. There is a naturalness about their love. They love their Mum and Dad, and so do I. Sal and Mark have welcomed me into their home and let me just be. After a few weeks of doing it is wonderful simply to be. Until tomorrow, when I head off for the next adventure.

One of my favourite things this morning was sitting with Sal and working out how we can accommodate nearly 70 people in Middleton at Easter this year. And what bed linen will be needed. And how we can feed them on the first night.

This will be another wonder-filled Ross Family Reunion. I googled things while she did the heavy lifting. Thank God for Sal.

WARNING: to any unsuspecting Adelaidians, DO NOT HEAD TO MIDDLETON AT EASTER 2020. There will be too many Rosses.

Cxx

Comments

  1. Not me! I shall be listening to AFL on radio. ABC 891 of course!
    And services for Holy Week.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Is the first night Maundy Thursday?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Big One, St Paul’s

  Dear Reader Today was the Big Event of tour. St Paul’s Cathedral, London. If you are observant, you will notice my absence from the photo above, along with several of my colleagues. Sadly, this happened.  After nearly four years and six vaccinations I finally succumbed to the dreaded Covid. At the worst possible time. My multiple vax status has meant I only feel a bit rotten, like a cold, but I do feel sad to have missed the day. And to miss Windsor tomorrow. I was grateful for the considered medical advice provided by Dr Ritesh, father of one of the trebles, who also updated my supply of paracetamol and ibuprofen.  So I am relying on others for the report about this special day.  The good bits started with four of the young Lay Clerks heading to St Paul’s for singing lessons with my friend Patrick Craig, who is an Alto Lay Vicar at St Paul. In have yet to hear from Nicholas, Marco, Charlie or James, but Patrick was very complimentary about their singing. This is w...

Castles, Cantuar and Margaritas

Today has included significant amounts of travel as we have made our way to Canterbury and are now on our way back to Winchester, where we still have another two nights. We set off early, around 8am, and headed for the home of Anglicanism, Canterbury. En route we stopped at Leeds Castle, where we spent several fun-filled hours exploring the castle, having lunch and getting lost in the hedge maze. The grounds are just beautiful, even in the starkness of winter. It was cold. VERY cold, as we walked from the bus to the Castle. Clear days will do that. This was the first time that I had used my sunglasses since we left Adelaide. We had a good look around, then after a lovely soup and sanger lunch we went out to the Maze. Getting there and back was again cold, but being in the maze was not as bitter, as we were protected from the wind.  We all had fun getting lost and being found again. The maze succeeded in doing something that nothing else has done, separating Ed J and Alana. At leas...

Hereford, where the sound rings for four seconds

  Dear Reader I remember I loved Hereford Cathedral when we visited on the first tour in 2006. Today I remember why. The Cathedral is beautiful. The welcome is warm, both spiritually and physically - they have amazing heaters.   Singing there is amazing. The acoustic is kind and supportive. Actually, it is exciting. The organ is stunning. Tonight we sang Evensong, with their Precentor canting. The Versicles and Responses were by June Nixon. We sang Roland Martin’s Buffalo Canticles, which we refer to as Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo. The anthem was Bob Chilcott’s Still, Still, Still. But the most significant sing was probably the psalms. Plural.  We sang four of them 147-150.  Ps 147 and Ps 148 were sung to different chants by Charles V Stanford. Ps 149 had an Edward Hopkins chant and Ps 150 was by Philip Marshall. Anthony Hunt is fond of saying the only thing better than a short psalm is a long psalm, and while some of the trebles may disagree, there are many of u...